Attachment

?
What is attachment?
Attachment is a close emotional bond, leading to a relationship, between an infant and a caregiver.
1 of 214
What does attachment lead to?
Attachment leads to clingy behaviour, proximity-seeking, and distress when separated from caregiver
2 of 214
What is reciprocity?
Reciprocity is when the infant responds to the action of someone's with a similar action.
3 of 214
What is interactional synchrony?
The infant reacts in time with the caregiver's speech by mirroring their facial and body movements.
4 of 214
What is imitation?
The infant copies the caregiver's actions.
5 of 214
What evidence is there for imitation?
Meltzoff and Moore found infants as young as 2/3 weeks old imitated specific facial and hand gestures.
6 of 214
Evidence to support Meltzoff and Moore
Murray and Trevarthen found that infants experienced acute distress when the mother on the video tape did not respond to facial and body gestures, showing that infants are actively eliciting a response.
7 of 214
Evidence against Meltzoff and Moore
Jean Piaget suggested any imitation before the age of 1 was response training, as a result of operant conditioning by gaining a reward of a smile.
8 of 214
Evaluation of Meltzoff and Moore
They increased internal validity by asking an independent observer to judge the infant's behaviour from the video, which allowed for infant responses to be measured objectively.
9 of 214
Evaluation of Murray and Trevarthen
Marian et al found that their replication of study suggested infants could not distinguish between video taped interactions and live ones. So infants aren't responding to the adult.
10 of 214
Evaluation of Marian et al
They indicate that the problem may lie with the procedure, and not the ability of infants to imitate their caregivers.
11 of 214
Individual differences
Isabella et al found that more strongly attached infant-caregiver pairs showed greater interactional synchrony.
12 of 214
What did Heimann found?
Heimann found that infants who imitated a lot from birth developed a better quality of relationship at 3 months. It isn't clear whether imitation is the cause or the effect of this early synchrony.
13 of 214
Who developed the 4 stages of attachment?
Schaffer and Emerson
14 of 214
What is the first stage of attachment?
Asocial attachment is when the infant can separate people from objects but doesn't have any strong preferences about their caregiver.
15 of 214
When is the asocial attachment phase?
0-3 months.
16 of 214
What is the second stage of attachment?
Indiscriminate attachment is when the infant can distinguish between inanimate objects and human company, smiling more at humans. They still have no preference.
17 of 214
When does indiscriminate attachment occur?
Between 6 weeks and 7 months.
18 of 214
What is the third stage of attachment?
Discriminate attachment is when the infant forms a strong attachment with a specific caregiver.
19 of 214
What is a primary attachment figure?
A primary attachment figure is the person who has formed the closest bond with a child.
20 of 214
When does discriminate attachment occur?
From 7 months to 11 months.
21 of 214
What happens within the discriminate phase?
Infants are likely to experience separation anxiety when their primary caregiver puts them down. But also, they are likely to form stranger anxiety when they are picked up or approached by someone who is unfamiliar.
22 of 214
What percentage of children did Schaffer and Emerson find to have their mother as the first specific attachment?
65%
23 of 214
What percentage was the mother the first joint object of attachment?
30%
24 of 214
What percentage was the father the first object of attachment to the child?
3%
25 of 214
What percentage was the father the first joint object of attachment?
27%
26 of 214
What is the last stage of attachment?
Multiple attachments is when the infant forms many different attachments based upon the consistent relationships they have.
27 of 214
When does multiple attachment occur?
From 9 months onwards.
28 of 214
What were Schaffer and Emerson's findings on multiple attachments?
Within one month of having a main attachment, 29% had multiple attachments to someone else, the secondary attachment. Within 6 months, this rose to 78%.
29 of 214
Evaluation of Schaffer and Emerson
The data collected may be unreliable as it relied on the mothers' reports of their infants. Some mothers may be less sensitive to their infants' protests and so reported less. This would create a systematic bias, challenging the validity of the data.
30 of 214
Evaluation of Schaffer and Emerson's sample
The sample is biased, as it is from a w/c population, and from the 1960s. Parental care has changed considerably since then so it may be less temporally valid.
31 of 214
Evaluation of Schaffer and Emerson: Individualist culture
S and E's study is culturally biased, as it only applies to individualist cultures. Sagi et al found that children formed closeness of attachment with mothers twice as common when in family-based arrangements than the communal environment of kibbutz.
32 of 214
Evaluation of stage theories of attachment
Stage theories suggest development is inflexible, however multiple attachments may occur before a single attachment in some situations and cultures. This may lead to a child's development being classed as abnormal.
33 of 214
Role of the Father: Goodsell and Meldrum
Goodsell and Meldrum found that infants with a secure attachment to their mother were also more likely to have a secure attachment to their father.
34 of 214
Role of the Father: Ross et al
Ross et al found that the number of nappies a father changed was positively correlated to the strength of the infant's attachment.
35 of 214
Role of the Father: Caldera
When investigating 60 fathers and mothers alingside their 14-month old infants, it was found that fathers who were involved in care-giving activities were much more likely to develop a strong attachment with their child.
36 of 214
Role of the Father: Geiger (1996)
Geiger suggested a mother's relationship is primarily nurturing and caring, but a father's relationship is more focused around play.
37 of 214
What did Lorenz study?
Goslings
38 of 214
How many groups did Lorenz divide the eggs into?
2 groups, one staying with their mother and the other being incubated by Lorenz.
39 of 214
What did the incubated eggs first see when hatched?
Lorenz
40 of 214
What did the incubated goslings do when they saw Lorenz?
They started following Lorenz around, as they imprinted on him.
41 of 214
What is imprinting?
An innate readiness to develop a strong bond with the mother.
42 of 214
What were the findings of Lorenz's study?
When the goslings were altogether, they divided themselves up into the original two groups. Lorenz also noted that imprinting occured within a critical period of 13-16 hours after hatching.
43 of 214
What long-lasting effects did Lorenz discover?
He discovered that imprinting was irreversible and long-lasting, but imprinting also had an effect on later mate preferences. Birds will choose to mate with the same kind of object they imprinted on.
44 of 214
Research Support for Lorenz's study
Guiton found that when leghorn chicks were exposed to yellow rubber gloves for feeding them the first few weeks, they imprinted on the gloves, suggesting a critical period. Male chickens also tried to mate with the gloves.
45 of 214
Criticisms of imprinting
Guiton found that he could reverse imprinting in chickens after spending time with their own species, engaging in normal sexual behaviour. Learning can also occur rapidly, so imprinting is fairly irreversible.
46 of 214
Evaluation of Lorenz's study
Lorenz used precocial species, which have their eyes open and are able to walk from birth, so they are very different from human babies. This means that the study cannot be generalised easily to human babies.
47 of 214
What animals did Harlow use?
Rhesus monkeys
48 of 214
What is the procedure of Harlow's study?
8 monkeys were split into two groups, one where the cloth-covered mother had the milk, and one when the wire surrogate mother had the milk. Both surrogate mothers had different heads.
49 of 214
How many days were the monkeys studied?
165 days
50 of 214
What observations were noted?
When the monkeys were scared by a mechanical teddy bear, and the amount of time spent with each mother.
51 of 214
What were the findings of Harlow's study?
All 8 spent the most time with the cloth-covered mother. Those who fed from the wire mother spent little time, and when scared, all monkeys clung to the cloth-covered mother. When playing, they also kept a foot on the cloth-covered mother for safety.
52 of 214
What were the long-lasting effects of Harlow's study?
Harlow found the motherless monkeys developed abnormally, both socially and sexually. They seemed to recover before 3 months old if they spent time with their peers.
53 of 214
What type of experiment was Harlow's study?
Lab experiment
54 of 214
Evaluation of Harlow: Lab experiment
As variables were strictly controlled, the results are unlikely to be affected by any extraneous variables, and therefore should be internally valid.
55 of 214
Evaluation of Harlow: Generalisability
Harlow's study is supported by Schaffer and Emerson's findings as infants are not most attached to the person who fed them, so this study can be generalised to humans, even though human behaviour is governed by more conscious decisions.
56 of 214
Evaluation of Harlow: Confounding variable
The two surrogate mothers varied in more ways than one as their heads were different. This acts as a confounding variable as it varies systematically with the IV. Therefore, the study lacks internal validity.
57 of 214
Evaluation of Harlow: Ecological validity
As the monkeys were not in their natural environment, the study cannot be reliably applied to real life.
58 of 214
Evaluation of Harlow: Ethical issues +
As Harlow's study could not be conducted ethically on humans, it allows us an understanding on the processes of attachment which can lead to better care for human infants. Therefore the benefits outweigh the costs to the animals in the study.
59 of 214
Evaluation of Harlow: Ethical issues -
Harlow's study created lasting emotional harm as rhesus monkeys are social animals, and they had difficulty forming relationships. This could be considered bad science.
60 of 214
Evaluation of Harlow: Replication
As the ethical guidelines today are against Harlow's procedures, this study cannot be replicated and proven to be reliable. Therefore, it can be considered unscientific.
61 of 214
What does Learning theory suggest?
Learning theory suggests that behaviour is learnt, rather than being innate tendencies.
62 of 214
What does Learning theory consist of?
Classical conditioning, Operant conditioning and Social Learning Theory.
63 of 214
What is classical conditioning?
Classical conditioning is learning through association.
64 of 214
What is the classical conditioning equation?
UCS-UCR NS-NR NS+UCS NS-CS CS-CR
65 of 214
What is the unconditioned stimulus?
Food
66 of 214
What is the unconditioned response?
Pleasure
67 of 214
What is the neutral stimulus?
The Mother
68 of 214
What is paired together during conditioning?
The neutral stimulus of the mother and the unconditioned stimulus of food.
69 of 214
After conditioning, what doesthe neutral stimulus turn into?
The Neutral stimulus of the mother becomes the conditioned stimulus.
70 of 214
What is the conditioned response?
Pleasure.
71 of 214
What do learning theorists call this stimulus-response?
'Mother love'
72 of 214
What is operant conditioning?
Operant conditioning is learning through reinforcement.
73 of 214
What is drive reduction theory?
A drive is something that motivates behaviour, and so when in discomfort, the human/animal has a drive to reduce it.
74 of 214
What is positive reinforcement?
A behaviour that is rewarded, so is more likely to be repeated.
75 of 214
What is the positive reinforcement involved in attachment?
When the infant is fed, the baby feels pleasure.
76 of 214
What is a primary reinforcer?
A primary reinforcer supplies the reward. In this case, the food.
77 of 214
What is a secondary reinforcer?
The person who supplies the food is associated with avoiding discomfort, and a source of reward.
78 of 214
How does attachment occur?
The child seeks the person who supplies the reward.
79 of 214
What is social learning theory?
Social learning theory is where learning occurs through observing others and imitating behaviours that are rewarded.
80 of 214
Who suggested that modelling could explain attachment behaviours?
Dale Hay and Jo Vespo
81 of 214
What did Dale Hay and Jo Vespo propose?
They proposed that children observed their parents' affectionate behaviour and imitated this. Parents also instruct their children on how to behave in relationships and reward appropriate behaviours such as giving kisses and hugs.
82 of 214
Evaluation of learning theory: Scientific Research+
Skinner's research, Harlow's, Lorenz's and Schaffer and Emerson.
83 of 214
Evaluation of learning theory: Scientific Research-
Many are based off animal studies and not all human behaviour, especially complex behaviour such as attachment, can be generalised, so they lack validity.
84 of 214
Evaluation of learning theory: Validity-
Research may lack validity as it is overly reductionist, just using a stimulus-response process to explain behaviour.
85 of 214
Evaluation of learning theory: Food-
Food is supposedly a key element in forming attachment, however studies (Harlow's) show that contact comfort caused higher levels of attachment than food. This was also supported by Schaffer and Emerson.
86 of 214
Evaluation of learning theory: Explanatory power
Learning theory does have some value as infants do learn through association and reinforcement. It just may be the attention and responsiveness as rewards that assist attachment forming.
87 of 214
Evaluation of drive reduction theory: Ignored today-
Drive reduction theory is no longer used today, as it can only explain a few behaviours and it does not explain how secondary reinforcers work.
88 of 214
Evaluation of learning theory: Alternative-
Learning theory is primarily rejected as Bowlby's theory has many more advantages. Bowlby explains why attachment occurs, due to evolution to enhance survival. It includes protection from harm. It explains facts better.
89 of 214
Why do attachments form, according to Bowlby?
Attachment behaviour evolves as it serves as an important survival function. Parents who look after their offspring are likely to produce subsequent generations.
90 of 214
Do babies have a critical period?
Babies have an innate drive to become attached, at around 3 to 6 months.
91 of 214
What is attachment determined by?
Attachment is determined by sensitivity. This view was influenced by Ainsworth's research. When their mothers were most responsive, the infants were most strongly attached.
92 of 214
How does attachment develop?
Social releasers are innate mechanisms that elicits caregiving, and leads to attachment.
93 of 214
What is monotropy?
Monotropy is the idea that infants have one special emotional bond with the primary caregiver.
94 of 214
What is the function of secondary attachments?
Secondary attachments provide an important emotional safety net and allow for healthy psychological and social development.
95 of 214
What is the internal working model?
The internal working model is a representation of the primary caregiver's relationship with the infant.
96 of 214
What does the internal working model act as?
It acts as a template for all future relationships as it generates expectations about what initimate, loving relationships are like.
97 of 214
What is the continuity hypothesis?
Individuals who are strongly attached in infancy continue to be socially and emotionally competent whereas infants who are not strongly attached have more social and emotional difficulties in childhood and adulthood.
98 of 214
Evaluation of Bowlby's theory: Research Support+
Harlow's study supports the idea that we evolved a need to attach, as it can be seen when the monkeys encountered an item they feared, they would cling on to the cloth-covered surrogate mother.
99 of 214
Evaluation of Bowlby's theory: Research against monotropy
Schaffer and Emerson's study suggests many children form multiple attachments and may not attach to their mother.
100 of 214
Evaluation of Bowlby's theory: Research for monotropy
Secondary attachments in his theory do contribute to social development but healthy development requires one central person higher than all others in a hierarchy.
101 of 214
Evaluation of Bowlby's theory: Research for monotropy
Grossman and Grossman, Prior and Glaser both find that there is a key role for the fathers as secondary attachment and there is evidence of a hierarchal model.
102 of 214
Evaluation of Bowlby's theory: Research against monotropy
Harlow's study of monkeys in isolation goes against monotropy, as it can be seen that monkeys who grew with their peers and not their mother did not show signs of social and emotional disturbance in later life.
103 of 214
Evaluation of Bowlby's theory: Adaptation+
It can be seen that attachment is adaptive, as the age of attachment is linked to features of a species' life. Therefore, as infants start to crawl, they develop attachment later in life.
104 of 214
Evaluation of Bowlby's theory: Sensitive period-
It is noted that developments can take place outside the critical period, so researchers prefer to use the term sensitive period to reflect the developmental window is one where children are maximally receptive to the formation of certain behaviours.
105 of 214
Evaluation of Bowlby's theory: Continuity hypothesis+
Sroufe et al study on Minnesota parent-child relationships found that there was continuity between early attachment and later emotional/social behaviour.
106 of 214
Evaluation of Bowlby's theory: Real Life Application+
Due to the research findings, many mothers began to stay at home in the 50s. It led to an influence in social behaviour and policies to protect chidlren.
107 of 214
Evaluation of Bowlby's theory: Alternative-
Kagan proposes the temperament hypothesis that an infant's innate emotional personality may explain attachment behaviour. Those with an easy temperament are more likely to become strongly attached because it is easier to interact with them.
108 of 214
Who studied the Strange Situation?
Mary Ainsworth
109 of 214
What was the aim of the Strange Situation?
To see how infants behave under conditions of mild stress and novelty.
110 of 214
How many episodes were there in the Strange Situation?
8
111 of 214
How was data collected?
A group of observers watched using a video recorder or a one-sided mirror.
112 of 214
How often was the infant's interactions recorded?
Every 15 seconds.
113 of 214
How many behavioural categories were there?
5
114 of 214
What was the scale of intensity?
1-7
115 of 214
How many infants were observed?
106 middle class infants.
116 of 214
What were the findings?
3 behavioural patterns; secure attachment, insecure-avoidant and insecure-resistant.
117 of 214
What is secure attachment also known as?
Type B
118 of 214
What are the characteristics of secure attachment?
Very willing to explore, moderate stranger anxiety, can be soothed after separation and enthusiastic when reunited.
119 of 214
What percentage of children had secure attachment?
66%
120 of 214
What is insecure-avoidant attachment also known as?
Type A, or anxious-avoidant
121 of 214
What are the characteristics of insecure-avoidant attachment?
Very willing to explore, low stranger anxiety, indifference when separated and avoids contact when reunited.
122 of 214
What percentage of children had insecure-avoidant attachment?
22%
123 of 214
What is insecure-resistant attachment also known as?
Type C, or anxious-resistant.
124 of 214
What are the characteristics of insecure-resistant attachment?
Not willing to explore, have high stranger anxiety, distressed when separated and seeks and rejects the mother on reunion.
125 of 214
What percentage of children had insecure-resistant attachment?
12%
126 of 214
Evaluation of Strange Situation: Other types of attachment-
Ainsworth overlooked Type D attachment that was picked up on by Main and Solomon when analysing 200 videotapes. Type D attachment is insecure-disorganised, which has a lack of consistent patterns of behaviour.
127 of 214
Evaluation of Strange Situation: Type D attachment+
Van IJzendoorn et al found 15% of children from a meta-analysis of 80 studies in the US had Type D attachment.
128 of 214
Evaluation of Strange Situation: Inter-rater reliability+
Ainsworth et al found .94 agreement between raters when rating exploratory behaviour, suggesting the observations are reliable.
129 of 214
Evaluation of Strange Situation: Application+
The research has improved children's lives as can be seen by the Circle of Security Project's findings of infants becoming more securely attached (32% to 40%), and caregivers becoming less disordered (60% to 15%).
130 of 214
Evaluation of Strange Situation: Internal Validity-
Main and Weston found children behaved differently depending on which parent they were with. The classification of attachment type may not be valid, as it is measuring one relationship rather a child's personal characteristic.
131 of 214
Evaluation of Strange Situation: Internal Validity+
Main tested a group of children and re-assessed them at 9 using the adult attachment interview, finding the attachment type influenced by the mother, supporting monotropy and the internal validity of the Strange Situation.
132 of 214
Evaluation of Strange Situation: Ecological Validity-
As it was conducted in a lab setting, the study is artifical, reducing the ecological validity.
133 of 214
Evaluation of Strange Situation: Hawthorne effect-
As the parents knew they were being observed, they may have changed their behaviour which could have affected the child's behaviour, so the results may not be valid.
134 of 214
Who conducted a meta-analysis of the Strange Situation studies?
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg
135 of 214
How many studies did they examine?
2000
136 of 214
How many countries did the studies come from?
8- Germany, US, China, UK, Japan, Israel, Sweden and Netherlands
137 of 214
What were their aims?
To find any inter and intra-culture differences in the findings.
138 of 214
What were their findings?
Secure attachment is most common, then insecure-avoidant, apart from Japan and Israel.
139 of 214
How many times greater were the variations within cultures compared to between cultures?
1.5 times greater.
140 of 214
What do these findings support?
Secure attachment is 'best' for healthy, social and emotional development.
141 of 214
Do they support the view that attachment is innate?
Yes.
142 of 214
Who supports Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg's findings?
Tronick et al.
143 of 214
What were Tronick's findings?
When studying the African tribe, Efe, in Zaire, even with differences in childrearing practices, the infants showed a primary attachment.
144 of 214
What did Grossmann and Grossmann find?
German infants tended to be classified as insecurely attached.
145 of 214
Why are German infants classified more as insecurely attached?
German culture involves keeping some interpersonal distance between parents and children, so infants do not engage in proximity-seeking behaviour.
146 of 214
What did Takahashi find?
When studying 60 m/c Japanese infants and mothers, there were similar rates of secure attachment, but no evidence of insecure-avoidant attachment. There were also high rates of insecure-resistant attachment. (32%).
147 of 214
Why were there high rates of insecure-resistant attachment typed children in Japan?
Japanese infants rarely experience separation from their mother, making them appear insecurely attached.
148 of 214
What conclusions can be drawn?
Differences in the patterns of attachment can be related to differences in cultural attitudes and practices.
149 of 214
Evaluation of Cultural similarities: Innate-
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg suggest cultural similarities can actually be explained through the effects of mass media, as it spreads ideas about parenting and so the world are exposed to similar influences.
150 of 214
Evaluation of the Meta-Analysis: Nation-
Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg were comparing countries, rather than cultures. However in 2001, Ijzendoorn and Saki studied two pop. samples in Tokyo, and found that the rural sample found an over-representation of insecure-resistant individuals.
151 of 214
Evaluation of Cross-cultural Research: Imposed etic-
The result of using an imposed etic to measure attachment is that Japanese children may appear to be insecurely attached according to Western criteria, so research using the Strange Situation may lack validity.
152 of 214
Evaluation of Cross-cultural Research: Culture bias-
Rothbaum et al suggested that as the theory is so rooted in American culture, it is not relevant to other cultures. For example, the continuity hypothesis suggests being independent is being securely attached, but in Japan the opposite is true.
153 of 214
Evaluation of theories of attachment: Benefit+
Rothbaum et al suggest the benefit of research on cultural variations is that psychologists can then produce indigneous theories that relate to individual cultures and child-rearing practices.
154 of 214
What is deprivation?
To have a prolonged separation/loss of emotional care from the primary caregiver.
155 of 214
What did Bowlby propose in regards to maternal deprivation?
Prolonged emotional deprivation would have long-term consequences in terms of emotional development.
156 of 214
What did Bowlby believe?
Bowlby believed infants and children needed a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with the mother to ensure normal mental health.
157 of 214
What was Bowlby's belief in the critical period?
If the child was deprived before 2 and a half years old, and there was no subsitute mother, then the child may become emotionally disturbed.
158 of 214
How long was the critical period, according to Bowlby?
There is a continuing risk up until the age of 5 that could cause potential long-term harm, if the child is deprived.
159 of 214
What are the long term consequences of deprivation?
Emotional maladjustment, mental health problems, social development problems, intellectual development problems and physical development problems.
160 of 214
How many thieves did Bowlby study?
44 thieves.
161 of 214
How many individuals were in the control group?
44.
162 of 214
What type of data did Bowlby study?
Bowlby analysed case studies.
163 of 214
How many of the thieves were 'affectionless psychopaths'?
14
164 of 214
What does 'affectionless psychopath' mean?
They did not hold responsibility for their crimes, they lacked affection and shame.
165 of 214
What were Bowlby's findings?
12 of the affectionless psychopaths had frequent separations from their mother before the age 2. 17% of the other thieves also experienced frequent separations, compared to 4% of the control participants.
166 of 214
What do these findings suggest?
Early separations can be linked to affectionless psychopathy, so lack of continuous care leads to emotional maladjustment.
167 of 214
Evaluation of Maternal Deprivation: Emotional Separation+
Deprivation may also be caused by psychological separation, as noted by Marian Radke-Yarrow et al who studied depressed mothers and their children. They found 55% of their children were insecurely attached.
168 of 214
Evaluation of Maternal Deprivation: Long-term effects+
Bifulco et al found that 25% of women who experienced separation from the mother experienced depression or anxiety disorders. Mental health problems were much greater in women whose loss occurred before the age of 6, supporting the critical period.
169 of 214
Evaluation of Maternal Deprivation: Application+
Bowlby's study and theory led to major social change within hospitals. Robertson filmed a 2 year old girl overly distressed and begging to go home whilst in hospital for 8 days as she was separated. Now parents are able to stay with their children.
170 of 214
Evaluation of Maternal Deprivation: Individual differences-
Barrett reviewed various studies on separation and found that securely attached children may cope reasonably well, whereas insecurely attached children become distressed. Therefore, not all children will be affected equally.
171 of 214
Evaluation of Maternal Deprivation: Privation-
Rutter criticises Bowlby's view of deprivation as it is unclear whether the child's attachment bond was broken, or had never been formed. Rutter's view of privation would suggest far more serious consequences than just a loss of the attachment bond.
172 of 214
Evaluation of Maternal Deprivation: Irreversible consequences-
Further research (Koluchova) suggests consequences are reversible, as twin Czech boys were found at 7 with rickets, and little social and intellectual development yet by adulthood had above average intelligence and normal social relationships.
173 of 214
Who studied the Romanian orphans?
Rutter and Sonuga-Barke
174 of 214
How many Romanian children were studied?
165
175 of 214
How many were adopted before the age of 2?
111
176 of 214
How many were adopted by the age of 4?
54
177 of 214
How large was the control group of British children adopted by 6 months?
There were 52 children.
178 of 214
What age intervals were they assessed at?
Age 4, 6, 11 and 15.
179 of 214
What was assessed?
Their physical, cognitive and social development.
180 of 214
How were these assessed?
Interviews with parents and teachers.
181 of 214
How did the Romanian orphans lag behind the British counterparts?
They were physically smaller, weighed less and classified as mentally retarded.
182 of 214
What had happened by the age of 4?
The Romanian orphans that had been adopted before 6 months had caught up with their British counterparts.
183 of 214
What problems did the Romanian orphans have, if adopted after 6 months?
They showed disinhibited attachments and had problems with peer relationships.
184 of 214
What does this suggest about long-term consequences?
They are less severe if children have the opportunity to form attachments.
185 of 214
What did Le Mare and Audet study?
They did a longitudinal study of 36 Romanian orphans adopted by Canadian families.
186 of 214
What were the dependent variables of this study?
Physical growth and health.
187 of 214
How did the orphans differ to a matched control group at the age of 4 and a half?
They were physically smaller.
188 of 214
What were the findings?
The difference had vanished by 10 and a half years, suggesting recovery is possible from the effects of institutionalisation.
189 of 214
What did Zeanah et al find?
Children who had spent 90% of their lives in an institution showed signs of disinhibited attachment.
190 of 214
What are the effects of institutionalisation?
Physical underdevelopment (Deprivation dwarfism), Intellectual underfunctioning, Disinhibited attachment, Anaclitic depression and Poor Parenting.
191 of 214
Evaluation of Effects of institutionalisation: Individual differences-
Some children are not as strongly affected as others. Rutter suggest that it might have been that some children received special attention and were able to experience early attachment.
192 of 214
Evaluation of Effects of institutionalisation: Application+
Research has allowed us to apply our understanding to improve the lives of children placed in care. Today, most babies are adopted within the first few weeks, and they are just as securely attached as non-adoptive families, studied by Singer.
193 of 214
Evaluation of Effects of institutionalisation: Deprivation-
It is more than likely that damage only occurs when there are multiple risk factors such as poverty, lack of cognitive stimulation and physical conditions being appalling.
194 of 214
Evaluation of Effects of institutionalisation: Slow development-
A criticism of the research is that it implies that the effects may be irreversible. Le Mare and Audet's findings that physical underdevelopment had improved by age 11, thus suggesting development continues in these children, but at a slower pace.
195 of 214
What is the internal working model?
The model enables individuals to predict and have expectations about relationships.
196 of 214
What did Hazan and Shaver design?
A 'Love Quiz'.
197 of 214
How many responses did they analyse?
620
198 of 214
How many responses did they get from men?
205
199 of 214
How many responses did they get from women?
415
200 of 214
What were the attachment styles percentages?
56%-secure, 25%-avoidant, 19% resistant.
201 of 214
What type of correlation did they find between attachment type and love experiences?
Positive.
202 of 214
What did securely attached adults emphasise?
They emphasised accepting and supporting their partner with flaws, and relationships were more enduring (10 years compared to 5/6).
203 of 214
What did they find?
They found a relationship between the conception of love and attachment type.
204 of 214
How were childhood friendships influenced by the internal working model?
Securely attached infants have higher expectations that others are friendly so it enables easier relationships with others.
205 of 214
How is parenting influenced by the internal working model?
The lack of an internal working model means that individuals lack a reference point to subsequently form relationships with their own children.
206 of 214
How is romantic relationships influenced by the internal working model?
Securely attached individuals have longer lasting romantic relationships.
207 of 214
How is mental health influenced by the internal working model?
The lack of attachment during the critical period would result in a lack of the internal working model. Experience of sever neglect could lead to an attachment disorder that is included in the DSM.
208 of 214
Evaluation of research: Correlational-
The research linking the internal working model with later relationship experiences is correlational, therefore we can't claim it to be cause and effect.
209 of 214
Evaluation of research: Retrospective-
Studies have relied on recollections, which are likely to be flawed as memories are not always accurate.
210 of 214
Evaluation of research: Longitudinal study
Simpson et al assessed infant attachment types at 1 and at 16. They found securely attached infants were closer to friends at 16, suggesting attachment type does predict adult relationships.
211 of 214
Evaluation of research: Overly deterministic-
It is suggested early experience have fixed effects on later adult relationships. However researchers have found instances where participants were experiencing happy adult relationships despite not having being securely attached as infants.
212 of 214
Evaluation of research: Low correlations-
Fraley conducted a review of 27 samples, and found correlations ranging from 0.5 to 0.1. Such correlations do not suggest that attachment type is very stable.
213 of 214
Evaluation of research: Alternative
Feeney argues adult attachment patterns may be properties of the relationship rather than the individual. Adult relationships are guided by a self-verification process, so it is the adult secure relationship that is causing the adult attachment type.
214 of 214

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What does attachment lead to?

Back

Attachment leads to clingy behaviour, proximity-seeking, and distress when separated from caregiver

Card 3

Front

What is reciprocity?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What is interactional synchrony?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What is imitation?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Psychology resources:

See all Psychology resources »See all Attachment resources »